Aftershock
by Lady MR1
Summary: Post "A Dark Turn" - Yes another one ^_^ R


She had betrayed him.  Again.

He had been walking around in circles before the dipping sun had caught his eye.  He had stopped and stared at it.  Numb.  It seemed like hours.

"Sir?" came a tensive question.  The agent, though he wasn't as experienced as the man before him, knew how it felt to loose a mission.  It sucked, for lack of a better term, and his superior had seemed to really want the mission to work.  He sympathized with Agent Bristow.

"Sir, we need to get back.  They're expecting us."

Jack turned to the agent and nodded, not daring his voice to speak without cracking.

They all returned to the van and rode the rest of the way back to the airport in silence.

Jack wanted to cry, but the façade he had kept for the past twenty years stubbornly refused to let him.

////

Irina wanted to cry.  Yet the triumphant smile, that irritating smirk, never left her face.

Last night was never meant to happen.  It was a fluke.

Irina had only agreed to this assignment to prove to herself as well as Jack Bristow that Irina Derevko didn't need him, didn't want him, and that he could rot and she didn't care.

She had enjoyed playing with him, but somewhere along the line, the game stopped being fun.

Last night, she hadn't meant to bed him; instead she wanted to seduce him and leave him hanging.  Just so she could prove to herself once and for all that she was the best and he was an idiot.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.  She had fallen for him.

Again.

She wanted to bash her head against the window of the car at her stupidity.

And the worst part was the fact that she had betrayed him.  And instead of the triumphant feeling she had anticipated, she felt empty, numb.

Damn it Jack, this would have been easier if you had called out HER name when we had sex.  Instead you called out mine…

Her anger resurfaced.  She wanted to kill shot someone.  More precisely, she wanted to shot Sloan, but that was out the question right now.

Damn American's and their style of living, damn Jack for making me weak, damn… 

"However did you manage to get this from Jack's protective care?"

"I don't share trade Arvin, you should know that by now."

"Yes, but I am dreadfully curious."

Irina just smirked as she imagined him dieing in various, painful, ways.

And damn Arvin Sloan for being the manipulative bastard that he is. 

////

Jack, being the game strategist he was, came in with a plan.

He would never tell his superiors that he had failed because of trusting the woman who had already betrayed him once.

"Jack, sit down."  Kendall said.

He did as he was told, his demeanor and face revealed nothing.

"I read the report.  I want to know why.  Why Jack?"

"I wanted Sloan dead."

A pause.

"I have hated that man for years, seeing him everyday just fed my hatred."  Kendall pondered on this, but didn't believe that a man like Jack would let his need for revenge do anything that might lead to questioning of his loyalty.

Another pause.

"It seemed less risky-"

"I know and understand the risks Jack.  I know why you did it.  Its what you would have done with any other agent.  Ms. Derevko, however, is not an agent of this agency and I want to know why you trusted her."

Jack seemed to ponder this.

"I want Sydney out and the only way that she'll ever leave is if Sloan is dead."

There it is.  The one thing that Jack would betray the world for: his little girl.  Damn it, if I didn't admire this guy so much I'd kill him for it.  

"Thank you.  You know that you will be suspended from all missions involving Arvin Sloan and Irina Derevko?"

A dry chuckle escaped Jack's lips.

"I am aware."

"Good, you're dismissed."

Jack stood and turned to go.

"And Jack, don't let his happen again."

Jack gave only a nod in acknowledgment.

As soon as he was alone, Agent Kendall put his head in his hands and sighed dejectedly.

Only four more years until retirement.

////

Please Review.

This is a one-time shot, however, if enough reviewers wish it, there will be a second chapter.  Don't expect one soon though, maybe over spring break.  Maybe.


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